50 Drabbles of Radiant Garden

Brooding

- brooding -

. . .

Aqua sat on a balcony in Radiant Garden, where the Keyblade wielders were all staying until they could get either the Land of Departure's castle or the Mysterious Tower fixed up – whichever came first.

She was actually sitting on the wooden railing. Thankfully, the top part was flat. Aqua just watched the sun sink below the horizon, the marketplace beneath her.

Honestly, she was brooding. There wasn't quite a specific thing bothering her, it was just... everything in general.

When the door behind her slid open with a click, Aqua didn't bother glancing back. She could tell who it was.

"Sitting back here all alone?"

"Yes," she replied simply. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not really." A silver-haired man stepped up next to her, though he didn't actually climb onto the railing.

They remained in silence like that for several minutes, watching the sun stubbornly refuse to go away. An edge was still peeking out when the first words came.

"Is it Riku?"

Aqua blinked at the sudden change, looking over at her companion. "No. Well," – she looked a bit flustered – "not completely."

"Not completely," he repeated.

"Well, yes," she replied, lips pressed together.

"Then what is it?"

There was a moment of tense silence.

"... Everything, I guess," Aqua said.

"Everything."

"Stop repeating everything I say!" she replied, frustrated. "And yes, everything. Will our home be rebuilt, will there actually be peace, can we be good teachers, and yes, Riku's darkness. Everything."

The man hesitated. "Even me?"

Aqua took a deep breath, surprised that she had no idea what to say to this. "... Yes. Even you," she eventually replied.

She studied the silver-haired man who had turned to look at the horizon. Yes, Aqua was worried about him, much more than she would ever admit to him. The years had gone by for him when it hadn't for her, and darkness was still in him. She just didn't know what to do with him, and Riku was virtually the same problem.

"Aqua."

She couldn't help but notice how even his voice was different – deeper. "Yes?"

He glanced over at her and offered a smile. "You don't have to worry about us. Riku and I will be fine."

"But – the darkness!" Aqua exclaimed. "We can't just let it stay in you!"

"Yes, you can," the man said firmly.

"But – but –" She deflated as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Terra..."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Aqua, the light can't be everything. And you saw Riku – he used the darkness without letting it control him. We can both work on it, and then we'll be fine."

Aqua bit her bottom lip and looked away. It always felt like any moment, she would look into her friend's eyes and see amber instead of cobalt. The silver hair didn't help. "I don't know..."

"Just trust me, okay?" he said impatiently. "You know I have the strength to get a hold of it."

"That's the problem, Terra," she said sadly. "It's always been about strength."

She could feel his hand on her shoulder stiffen, and she knew that he was about to start an argument. If this had been the old Terra, harsh words would've been shot at her already.

But instead, the silver-haired friend Aqua didn't recognize left in silence.

Her shoulder felt cold where his hand had been.